Top students give encouragement

Six of Brisbane Water Secondary College's brightest students from last year returned to the Woy Woy campus of the college on Wednesday, February 8.

The students addressed part of the 200 current Year 12 students in an effort to encourage them to gain the most from their few months left at school.

Woy Woy campus principal Mr David Beattie said: "The students are more likely to listen to other students that only one year ago went through what they are going through now, than they are to teachers."

The six students were individually introduced to the assembly along with their achievements in the Higher School Certificate (HSC), as well as what they are doing now as a consequence of their HSC result.

Included in the group was one of two students who attained the highest UAI (University Admission Index) for 2005, Sarah Harvey.

Ms Harvey's UAI was 93.5 and attained a band six (over 90 per cent) in three subjects including Art, where she finished up in the top three per cent in the State, Drama, where she found herself in the top 65 in the State and Design and Technology where she finished seventh in the State.

The other visiting students also achieved band six levels in subjects such as Business Studies, Industrial Technology, Community and Family Studies, Mathematics and Information Technology.

The other students were Justin Stewart, Rachael Mackillop, Sharon Doyle, Michael Mohrenberger and Alex Beaton.

All students were attending university this year, some on a scholarship

Each of them told what they were doing, how hard they needed to work to get there and answered questions from interested students.

The most common messages passed on to this year's class were: "Don't leave it 'till the end of the year", "Assessments through the year are important to get high marks", and "Start major works early".

Some of the students said that they studied two hours every night while others said that they did as much as five hours each night.

Some also had part time work.

Mr Beattie said: "Current statistics show that less than three per cent of Peninsula residents have a university degree and the college's own records indicate that many students in the current Year 12 class will be the first in their family to attain the HSC.

"This will be quite an achievement in itself for them."

Cec Bucello, February 9